


sweet red

by AnEndlessFire



Category: B.A.P
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Side Banghim, Happy halloween, Light Angst, M/M, vampire Youngjae - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 14:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12583500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnEndlessFire/pseuds/AnEndlessFire
Summary: Being the only vampire in your friend group wasn't always easy.





	sweet red

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stigmafermata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stigmafermata/gifts), [AbelsGrave](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbelsGrave/gifts).



> hello!  
> i planned to write a "short os" for halloween and ended up with this 8k words long story haha  
> obviously inspired by youngjae's vampire costume last saturday  
> happy halloween ♥
> 
>  
> 
> quick heads up just in case: nothing in this story is gruesome or graphic but since this is a vampire au, there's a lot of mentions of blood!!

It wasn’t fun being the vampire friend.

Sure, from a human’s perspective, being a vampire probably sounded amazingly mysterious, something little kids could daydream about during recess. In the real world however, it wasn’t so easy being the vampire friend. Youngjae was blessed with very patient and understanding human friends who somehow had never been freaked out by his creatureliness. And while he could only be grateful to have them around to help him hide his otherness to the rest of the world, he wasn’t sure they clearly understood the struggle it was to be a vampire in a human-dominated world.

First, there was the sunlight. It didn’t affect him nearly as much as stories said, he was still able to go outside during the day. But it was infinitely more tiring to walk in the sun than it was for his human friends. It would first get really itchy and he’d have to hide as often as he could, and after a while he felt like all his energy had been drained out of him. “I’m a creature of the night!” he’d pout every time his friends planned a day outside in the middle of summer, but what could he do? He couldn’t stay in forever. All his classes happened during the day, obviously, and he could hardly find a decent excuse to only take night classes when he was supposed to be a regular student. Besides, his social life would suffer. He cherished winter, when the days became shorter and the sun hid behind a perpetual curtain of clouds. Not having to triple-check the weather before going out for a few months was a blessing beyond comparison.

University life in general was made more difficult by his inhumanness. It wasn’t like vampires were a common occurrence in the human world. Youngjae didn’t have any human friends until he was eighteen because vampires were but a few in this world and they knew humans would hunt them down to extinction if they were made aware of their existence. The most famous vampire stories had actually been written by vampires themselves, to settle their identities as legendary creatures and keep the humans off their track. But his parents couldn’t have him ‘homeschooled’ – meaning going to the little school for vampires right outside of town that no humans knew about – forever. There was no university for vampires so he’d had to do what his parents and all the other vampires had done over the years: accommodate.

It was a difficult transition, after eighteen years of living with people just like him and not having to pretend to be someone else more than a few hours at once when he went in town. As soon as he’d moved into his dorm, he’d had to pretend to be a regular human 24/7 – and that didn’t come easily for someone who’d never even been friend with a human. He’d met some of course, quite a few. There were no vampire towns, the night creatures would just secretly live among humans. All of Youngjae’s neighbors had been human, so were the cashiers he’d hand his money to and the bus driver who’d drop him off near his school every morning. But those short experiences didn’t compare to a close relationship with one, which is why he’d first chosen to keep his distance from everyone at university. He’d thought that, if he just remained a polite acquaintance to his classmates, the risks of him accidentally saying something that would give away his otherness would be lessened. But of course, things hadn’t gone as he’d planned.

What he hadn’t planned was his roommate Himchan. Himchan was two years older, and he was a social butterfly. It had been very clear from the beginning that they wouldn’t be the kind of roommates that only said hi to each other before pretending the other didn’t exist. Which was fine with Youngjae at first. Himchan was easy-going and he respected his boundaries, and it was nice to have someone to talk to at the end of the day. Being friends with Himchan however meant that you also had to be friends with his boyfriend Yongguk and his former neighbor Daehyun. That too was also fine, even if it went against all the plans Youngjae had made before starting university. Yongguk was quiet and it didn’t bother Youngjae when he’d pass by their dorm. He was actually quite a peaceful presence to be around, a complete contrast from Himchan’s loud excitability. Daehyun had turned out to be a very valuable friend too. Not only were they the same age, but the boy would shelter Youngjae in his dorm on nights where Yongguk would stay late in their room and it was clear that Youngjae had better sleep elsewhere if he wanted to have a peaceful night. Daehyun’s roommate had left university barely a month after he had started and no one else had been assigned to replace him so he was enjoying the privilege of living by himself. Daehyun was the most cheerful human being the vampire had ever met. Just like Himchan, he was very easy-going, and those nights were never awkward.

Thus, after a few months of settling in and getting closer with his new friends, Youngjae had started getting comfortable in the human world. A little too comfortable. So comfortable he’d almost forgotten about the defining characteristic of his vampireness. That his eating habits were relatively different from those of humans and that they were not to be found out.

Vampires didn’t have to feed as often as humans, and they could still consume and enjoy human food in the meantime to keep up appearances. Still, they had to consume blood roughly once every two days to survive. This had meant quite a lot of adjustments, especially since feeding directly off humans was made forbidden a long time ago by vampires all over the world. Not only was it unethical, had ruled the World Vampire Alliance (WVA for short) centuries ago, but it was also dangerous for the survival of their species. If they preyed off humans, their identities would soon be found out and it would inevitably turn into a war with the other species, for which the vampires were vastly outnumbered. So, they’d adapted, finding ways to collect human blood from donations rather than hunting and creating a number of safe places around the world where vampires could get their food without harming anyone or being found out. Youngjae had no idea how they would get their donations or how much power the WVA had over governments to remain such a well-kept secret – he’d never looked into the legal side of things, he was just grateful they had an antenna close his campus he could go to once monthly to get a few weeks’ worth of blood.

And so, for six months that was just what he had done, sneaking bottles of blood into their room and drinking when Himchan was either absent or fast asleep. And it had been going rather well. Himchan wouldn’t ask any compromising questions about his coming and going, nor would he question the usefulness or the content of Youngjae’s mini fridge when they already shared a normal one with the nearest dorms. The vampire had started letting his guard down over the months, so comfortable he could have convinced himself he was human too. Up until one fateful evening where he’d made a simple mistake.

Youngjae had been in the small bathroom connected to their shared bedroom, busy showering, when he’d heard the front door opening and closing loudly, a sign his roommate was back.

“Youngjae?” Himchan had shouted from the other side of the door to be heard over the running water. “Can I put something in your fridge? Some people are having a party tonight and the kitchen’s fridge is full to the brim.”

“Yup”, he’d shouted back, agreeing out of habit.

It had taken a few seconds before he’d registered what he’d agreed to. He’d ran out of the shower in horror, almost tripping as he’d quickly wrapped a towel around himself before opening the door.

“Wait, Himchan, n-“ he’d shouted, but it had been too late.

His roommate had been standing in front of the open mini-fridge, staring confusedly at the small army of dark bottles – and the half-eaten Mars bar – that took up all the space in the small piece of furniture.

“What…the…fuck…,” Himchan had said after a minute of heavy silence.

The WVA had done a great effort over the last ten years on the packaging. Youngjae had vague memories of his parents sneaking in dozens of pouches filled with blood that looked just like the ones used in hospitals in the trunk of their car. Since then, the Alliance had done its best to make the drink look a lot less suspicious to wandering human eyes, but it was hard to conceal a liquid that was already dark. And the black bottles looked nothing like any trendy drink his roommate would have ever seen.

“So…” Himchan had started again, finally facing his visibly distressed roommate after a few more minutes of silence. “Is that some sort of drug you’re selling or do you have some soda addiction that you’ve kept from me?”

Youngjae had never been a good liar, he had to admit, and he’d known that whatever he could have come up with on the spot would have neither sounded convincing nor made the situation any better. So, he’d sighed deeply, told Himchan he was going to put some clothes and gathered his courage in the bathroom before sitting down and telling his friend the truth.

It had taken a lot of convincing, of course, until his friend had believed him. Vampires were nothing but a myth for humans after all. However, Himchan had patiently listened to the boy’s entire life story, looking more confused each passing second but not butting in even once to express his disbelief. It was the fangs that had done the trick. The two sharp teeth constantly hidden inside Youngjae’s gums looked just like what humans imagined vampires should look like, and once released it was difficult to deny the inhumanness of their existence. The boy had even let his roommate touch them to attest that they were real, before they regained their place of hiding.

It had taken a little bit of time for Himchan to get used to the idea, the older boy sometimes asking random questions to Youngjae about his vampireness. The young vampire would oblige, replying honestly even to the stupidest questions. He knew it was a lot to take in. He’d struggled getting used to the human way of living only six months before, and Himchan had then unknowingly helped him settle in his new life. The least he could do was to do the same for his friend, although on a much smaller scale. Eventually, the older boy got used to it, embracing Youngjae’s identity with a lot more fascination than fear. The vampire had been surprised to find out that his two other friends had the same reaction as well.

Himchan had kept the secret for weeks, but eventually they’d realized it was harder to keep it safe when both of them were aware than before. Youngjae had decided to tell Yongguk first, thinking Himchan could help him sound a little bit more believable as he’d dropped a massive confession out of nowhere on his friend. Yongguk had received the news in the same way Himchan had – with suspicion at first, soon replaced by fascination and respect. Surprisingly, Daehyun had been the one who’d struggled the least to swallow the news. He still had to be convinced of course, but after barely a day, the boy had already embraced Youngjae’s otherness and moved on. The vampire had been grateful, as he’d wished nothing more than to return to the simple friendships he’d had before the revelation.

 

A year had passed since these events. The schoolyear had ended, and a new one had started just a few months after. Two new friends had joined their little social group, Junhong and Jongup, both a year younger than Youngjae and Daehyun. The two had also been briefed about Youngjae in due time. That new confession had been very uncomfortable for Youngjae at first. He’d known the two boys for a few months when it had happened and he’d fully agreed to Himchan revealing them the truth, but he always felt uneasy being the center of attention for something that was simply part of him. And the young boys hadn’t made it easy, their fascination over the vampire taking the form of near obsession over the next few days, constantly asking him to show his fangs. Fortunately, Yongguk and Himchan had soon stepped in, reminding the boys to be considerate towards the vampire and to, essentially, treat him the same way they did before knowing he was not human.

These five friends were the only ones who knew of his creatureliness, and Youngjae planned to keep it that way. Having close friends who knew of his secret had made it a lot easier to fully settle into university life and the vampire felt like a student like any other. He’d realized half way through his second year as an undergraduate that it had been a whole year since he’d confessed to Himchan and the two roommates briefly celebrated one evening before going back to their daily lives.

Still, it wasn’t easy being the vampire friend. Youngjae was surrounded by wonderful people, but they often forgot he wasn’t exactly like them. As comfortable as he felt in his new life, he couldn’t erase eighteen years of living between his own kind. His body too would never function the same way a human’s does. He still struggled when the sun was out, would feel more at ease during nighttime and frequently miss his alarm clock. He still had blood cravings several times a week who made his insides twist if they didn’t get fed swiftly. His friends had accepted his identity, but they didn’t know what it was like to be him. Which was why he hadn’t been surprised when they’d, once again, planned an outing together that was nothing but practical for him.

 

April had come around, spring following in its footsteps. The weather had already started getting warmer and classes were soon coming to an end, students rushing to enjoy their free time before exam season started again. Naturally, the small group of friends had decided to do something together to celebrate another year coming to a close.

“To the beach?” Youngjae had exclaimed once Himchan had told him his idea. “Are you crazy?”

“To the coast, more precisely,” his human friend had replied calmly, lying on his bed. “It’s not warm enough yet to do any beach activities.”

“Same difference,” Youngjae had whined. “Himchan, you know it’s hard enough for me to be outside in the sunlight for an entire day, never mind at the beach.”

“I know,” Himchan replied. “And it’s up to you to decide whether you can make it or not but hear me out. It’s April, and it’s either overcast or raining most of the time. Soon it’ll be too hot and sunny for you to stay outside more than a few hours at a time. It’s the perfect season to go out and enjoy a day by the coast. We won’t be outside all day long, we’ll find a restaurant to eat at noon, so you can rest a bit before going out again. Besides, Junhong said he hasn’t seen the sea since he was little.”

Youngjae had whined, and whined, and whined some more, but ultimately, he was the one who had caved in. He didn’t want to feel left out, and Himchan was right. He wouldn’t be able to go out much in a month or so once the weather started getting significantly warmer. It was one occasion to spend the day with his friends before he was trapped again and started living at night, the way he used to when he was a kid.

So here he was, awake at 5:30 am on a day off to catch an early bus to the nearest coast. He painfully dragged himself out of bed, the sound of the shower running a sign that his roommate was up too. They had to be by the campus’ main bus station at 6:45, leaving him about an hour to wake up and get ready. He picked out an outfit while he waited for the bathroom to be clear. To add to his misery, it just happened to be another feeding day for him, he realized while in the shower. He mentally reminded himself to pass by the WVA antenna the next day before he ran out of blood bottles. His cravings would get stronger at the beginning of spring due to the weather warming up, making him consume almost twice as much blood as he usually did. These strong urges would start disappearing during May, his body slowly accustoming to the changing weather, but they were never easy to deal with. His stomach would twist painfully until it was filled with the precious liquid, his energy running low and his body exhausted by the constant need for food. He would still try to stick to his usual schedule of feeding every two days, but his hunger was such that he’d drink almost two bottles in one go. “ _Don’t think about it too much_ ,” he told himself while the warm water ran down his back. “ _It’s a day out with friends. It’s supposed to be fun._ ”

Once out of the bathroom and dressed, he went over what he’d need for the day, picking things up here and there and placing them inside his backpack. Himchan was busy doing the same thing, except he was also packing extra food for the entire group in case they couldn’t find a decent place to eat.

“Don’t forget to bring one of your bottles if you need to,” the older boy reminded him.

“I know.”

And he did just that, opening the door with one swift motion to be faced with… an empty fridge. Well, mostly empty. Apart from some snacks Himchan had left – someone had stolen two of his Mars bars from the kitchen’s fridge once and he didn’t want to take any chance – and a half-empty blood bottle, the fridge was a desert. And of course, that last bottle was way out of date.

Youngjae cursed under his breath, low enough that his friend didn’t pick up on it. How did it come to this? How come he hadn’t realized he was running out of bottles in the past few days? Sure, he’d been very busy, finishing up his last essays and mentally preparing for exam season, but it was the first time he’d found himself completely out of blood. Not once in his life had he been so unprepared, especially not when his cravings were that strong.

The WVA antenna near the campus would not be open this early. The Alliance’s shops would stay open until early in the morning, closing at 5:30 to allow vampires who worked at night – a good chunk of them, as they were more comfortable than humans in the darkness – to buy food when they left work. It would only reopen in the afternoon. “ _Suck it up_ ,” Youngjae told himself. He didn’t have a choice anyway.

The vampire briefly considered telling Himchan but decided against it. He didn’t want to ruin the others’ day, and thought about how humans were a lot weaker than him and needed to feed more often and yet he was the friend who complained the most. He could go one more day without being fed and would run straight to the WVA once they’d come back. It shouldn’t be that difficult.

Youngjae grabbed one of Himchan’s snacks before closing the fridge, hoping he could trick his stomach into thinking it had been fed for a few more hours.

 

Youngjae had to admit his friends’ ideas weren’t always completely terrible. The April sea was still very cold, but the beaches were mostly empty in the morning, entrenched in a peacefulness that was soon shattered by the boys’ arrival. It seemed the short nap they’d had on the bus had been enough to catch up for the little sleep they’d had the day before as, as soon as they’d got off the bus, Junhong was already bolting towards the coastline. He was soon followed by Jongup, then Daehyun, and then Himchan shouting at all three not to go into the water.

Youngjae breathed in the fresh air. The soft winds that brushed over his hair and made him snuggle deeper into his scarf reminded him of home. He hadn’t grown up anywhere near the sea, but the peacefulness of the streets nearing the coast and the purity of the air that surrounded him, soothingly feeling his lungs and chasing away his anxieties, brought him back to the little town encircled by forests where he’d spent his childhood. For a second, he felt his heart pinch at the thought of parents whom he’d not met in a while, but the calming presence of Yongguk standing next to him brought him back to the present. He did notice the weather was already warmer and not as overcast as they’d planned, but he decided it was manageable enough for the moment.

“Should we join them?” Yongguk told him.

Youngjae nodded. It was only one day after all.

 

Unfortunately, the sun decided to join in on the party, peeking from behind the clouds not long before noon and making the air significantly less breathable for the vampire. He tried not to complain for a while, amused by the sight of his friends running away from the cold waves, attempting not to get their ankles wet. Five minutes before he’d been right there with them, but the sudden warmth was making him dizzy and the sun brushing on his pale skin was starting to itch, the feeling of a thousand little needles pricking over his skin difficult to ignore for long.

As if he could read his mind, Himchan hopped over to where Youngjae was sitting, leaving Yongguk to deal with the three other wild kids.

“We’re going to go find a place to eat soon,” Himchan told him, reaching his hand to help the vampire get on his feet. “Are you okay? You seem a little pale. No pun intended.”

“I’m starting to feel a little bit dizzy,” Youngjae replied. “Is it okay if I wait here while you go have lunch? I don’t need to eat.”

“Sure, I’ll tell the others.”

Five minutes later, it had been arranged that Youngjae would stay on the beach to rest with Daehyun while the others went to find the nearest restaurant. “We won’t be gone for long! We’ll be back in an hour or so!”

Youngjae found a quiet part of the beach to lie down, away from the path coming leading to the city center. A few families had joined them earlier, deciding to make the most of the spring weather to have a picnic. And while Youngjae didn’t mind them one bit, he needed quietness around him at that moment to regain his composure. He’d be fine if he just lied down for a while, he told himself.

The sand was warm and it wasn’t unpleasant, although no matter how he placed himself he could not avoid the sun burning in his face. He closed his eyes, trying not to concentrate on the slight stinging sensation on his skin. He heard Daehyun sit down next to him and unwrap one of the sandwiches he’d taken from Himchan’s bag. The human had volunteered to look over Youngjae, claiming he wasn’t that hungry anyway. The vampire opened his eyes briefly to see Daehyun basking in the sunlight, clearly enjoying the feeling.

“I don’t know how you do it,” he whispered, scrunching his face in displeasure.

“How I do what?” Daehyun mumbled, his cheeks filled of food making him look like a hamster. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he replied, but as the words passed his lips, his stomach decided to send him a painful reminder of its emptiness, twisting in a way that was so unpleasant he felt it in his entire body, his hands instinctively coming up to hold his belly.

“Don’t bullshit me,” Daehyun said. “Are you sick? Can vampires be sick?”

“I’m not sick,” Youngjae retorted. He opened his eyes again to see Daehyun staring at him worriedly. “I just… I forgot to eat. Well, not really. I forgot to buy blood supplies and I’ve not had any for the last few days and-“

“You’re an idiot,” Daehyun cut him off dryly.

Youngjae expected the other to continue, but he was faced with silence. Before he could reply, another wave of painful cramps hit him and he closed his eyes once more, trying to concentrate on the sound of the waves in the distance rather the unappealing noises his stomach was producing. He knew Daehyun could hear them, but the human unusually kept to himself for once.

It was only a few minutes later that Daehyun spoke again, breaking Youngjae’s manufactured peacefulness.

“Is it illegal for vampires to drink off humans?” he said slowly, with a measured evenness in his tone, as if he wasn’t sure he was even allowed to ask.

“No, it’s not,” Youngjae replied, his eyes still closed. “As long as it’s consensual and the human knows what they’re doing. It’s illegal to hunt, it’s illegal to kill or permanently damage the person you’re drinking off, obviously, but drinking in itself is not forbidden. The WVA made it unnecessary when they started selling blood bottles though.”

“So technically, a vampire could drink off any human as long as they gave their consent?” Daehyun continued.

“Well, technically yes,” Youngjae explained. “There are a few restrictions of course. Only the WVA is allowed to sell blood, for example, to prevent any human trafficking networks. But other than that, yes, any human can give their blood to a vampire.”

“So…” Daehyun started again, hesitating for a bit before he seemed to find the courage to continue. “Why don’t you drink off me then?”

Youngjae’s eyes snapped open in surprise. He sat up, briefly forgetting his stomach pain to look at his friend, expecting him to say he was joking. He realized after a few seconds Daehyun was perfectly serious, the same worried look painted on his face as he waited for a reply.

“What the fuck, Daehyun,” Youngjae said, his voice slightly panicky. “No, absolutely no!”

“Why not,” Daehyun replied defensively. “It pains me to see you like this.”

“I’ve never drank from a human before!” Youngjae added sharply. “I wouldn’t know where to stop! It’s too dangerous. It’s a terrible idea, forget it.”

Except Daehyun was clearly determined to do anything but forget it.

“You’re used to drinking a certain amount of blood though,” the human continued stubbornly. “You even told me you had a schedule. There’s no reason for you to go overboard. You don’t even need to drink that much, just a little bit to feel better. Honestly, don’t worry about me. I used to get my blood drawn all the time when I was younger.”

“It’s not the same,” Youngjae retorted. “Besides, I’m having cravings at the moment, so I don’t know if I’d be as good at controlling myself as you seemed to believe. I’ll be fine, I’ll just go straight to get more blood supplies when we get home.”

“You know we won’t be home for another eight or nine hours. You want me to believe you’ll be perfectly fine then when you can barely stand now?”

“I can stand just fine,” he replied dryly. “Forget it. Let’s just walk a bit, I need some air.”

He didn’t wait for his friend to reply before standing up and walking towards the pile of black rocks not too far away from them. He could hear the human’s footsteps behind him but it was clear Daehyun was keeping a bit of distance between them. His mind was troubled, both by the heavy weather and Daehyun’s proposition, and he felt like walking it off would make him feel better.

However, not even two minutes after he’d stood up, another wave of stomachache hit him, and he felt his knees go weak, the sand suddenly surprisingly close to his vision. In only a few seconds, Daehyun was beside him again.

“Youngjae…” he said softly, but there was a hint of authority in his tone that betrayed his intentions.

“Don’t start again,” the vampire tried to say firmly but it came out weak.

“I’m only trying to help,” Daehyun continued. “The only other option is me telling Himchan about it and you know he’d make us go home immediately. It’s up to you.”

Youngjae knew he wouldn’t let it go. Daehyun could be surprisingly stubborn when he wanted to, and as much as it irked him to admit, the vampire was almost starting to consider the offer. He was starting to wonder whether he’d overestimated himself, naively believing he could go one extra day without blood just fine. But if Himchan were to see him like this, which would happen sooner or later, he would indeed make them all go home. And for someone who complained so much, Youngjae still hated to be the party pooper.

“If I accept to drink off you,” he said after a few seconds, “will you keep it in between us?”

“Of course,” Daehyun replied with a soft smile, knowing he’d already won. “Not a word to the others.”

Youngjae sat up awkwardly. He had no idea how to do this. He knew what he had to do of course, but it seemed so unnatural to drink off someone, a living breathing being, even more so to someone he was so close to. He looked around briefly to see if anyone could see them. Most of the families seemed to have deserted the beach after lunch, and he could vaguely hear people in the distance, but they seemed far away enough that the two boys would be out of everyone’s vision.

When he looked back at his friend, the other was staring at him with determination, surely trying to look as encouraging as he could. It was odd, Youngjae thought, that Daehyun seemed a lot calmer than him. The human did not seem troubled at all by what was about to happen, not even flinching when Youngjae revealed the two sharp fangs he was about to insert into his skin.

The vampire reached to firmly grab Daehyun’s jaw in one hand, angling it slightly to uncover the boy’s neck. Vampires were meant to hunt, and thus were naturally stronger than humans. Youngjae knew Daehyun could feel the strength in his fingers when he put his other hand on the human’s shoulder to stabilize him. As he got closer to his open neck, he heard the human take a quick intake of air.

“Breathe,” Youngjae said, his own breath caressing the other’s tan skin. “I’m about to hurt you.”

He waited until Daehyun seemed to breathe normally again before piercing the human’s skin. His starving mouth was suddenly filled with the precious liquid that kept him alive since he was a child, but it was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Daehyun’s blood was so sweet, sweeter even than the sugar-filled bottles that were given to baby vampires to cover the slightly bitter taste of iron. The liquid that ran down his throat had an entirely different taste from what he was used to – it was almost as if Daehyun had his own unique flavor, something that could not be recreated in the sanitized bottles sold by the Alliance. For a second it made him feel even dizzier, almost forgetting who he was drinking from, until a vague memory from childhood resurfaced in his mind.

He was ten when he’d asked a naïve question at the dinner table that had made his parents look at each other worriedly, leading to a lecture he hadn’t seen coming.

“What happens if you drink blood directly from a human?”

His parents hadn’t replied straight away, but after dinner they’d made him sat down in the living room, looking as serious as when his dog had run away a few years before. After explaining to him the importance of consent, his mother had urged him to listen closely.

“Drinking from a human isn’t a small act, Youngjae,” she had said. “It’s something very serious. There is always the risk to become addicted to the sensation, as humans tend to write in their stories, as it’s quite different from what we drink in bottles, but it is not even the biggest issue.”

“It actually happens quite rarely,” his father had continued. “The main issue is that… how can I explain this… drinking blood from a human creates this sort of bond with them and it… ties you down to them, I guess. It’s not something to do with just everyone.”

The memory made him stop drinking abruptly. The entire interaction had taken no longer than thirty seconds, but that would be more than enough blood for him to go through the rest of the day. Youngjae risked a glimpse towards his friend. Daehyun did not look any different than before, the human smiling warmly at Youngjae as if nothing unusual had happened. The vampire reached over his bag to find tissues to wipe off the traces of blood around his mouth.

“Fine?” he asked the other, unable to make eye contact again.

“Yes, don’t worry,” Daehyun replied, although his voice betrayed a slight tiredness that wasn’t there before.

Youngjae wiped the blood off Daehyun’s neck too before shakily covering it with a band-aid he’d found somewhere in his bag. His friend placed his hand over his to stabilize his trembling fingers, but he shook him off. The taste of Daehyun’s blood lingered on his tongue, as did the texture of his skin on his lips, but it was the guilt in his throat that was harder to swallow.

 

Youngjae tried to distract his troubled mind for the rest of the afternoon, but it was to no avail. His parents’ words kept ringing in his ears, not letting him fully enjoy the rest of the day with his friends. He pretexted the sun was tiring him when Himchan questioned him on his lack of energy, but it seemed a minor inconvenience now.

As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, he could not deny the truth. His parents were right. What they’d done a few hours earlier seemed to have wired his brain a different way and his eyes could not leave Daehyun, following him around the whole afternoon no matter how much he told himself to stop. The human seemed perfectly unchanged however, and unbothered by the vampire’s constant gaze. Every time their eyes would meet, he’d just smile or wave at Youngjae then go back to playing with the others.

It seemed Youngjae was alone in a personal hell he’d unknowingly crafted for himself.

 

A good night’s sleep didn’t solve all his problems. Not that he’d truly expected it to, but a vampire can dream.

Youngjae woke up the next day in his warm bed, with a mini-fridge and a belly full of blood, but his mind was in the same state as the previous day. In short, he was a mess. He hadn’t expected this bond thing to be true, nor had he believed it would happen so soon and with such strength. His mind was a mixture of guilt and worry for Daehyun, his chest contracting uncomfortably every time he thought of the human. It was the most unusual feeling, this constant need to know if someone else was okay, this desire to care for them. But the oddest part was that it wasn’t completely unpleasant. Youngjae could not explain it, but within his urge to undo whatever he’d unknowingly started the day before, a part of him was peacefully floating on a little cloud, daydreaming every time Daehyun came into mind.

The vampire groaned his way through the day, trying his hardest to concentrate on the work he had to go through before exams started. It was tough, but it kept the human off his mind. If someone had told him he would gladly spending a whole day doing nothing but revision a few days before, he would have laughed at their face. There was only so much a student could do in one day however, and he had to take a break after hours of reading the same sentences over and over. And again, as soon as he let his mind wander for a second, the same person occupied his thoughts almost unbearably.

Not wanting to let his agony continue any longer, Youngjae reached for his phone. His mother would surely know what to do. As soon as she picked up, the vampire shamefully recounted the events of the previous day and how he had been struggling since then. He’d been blessed with a very patient mother who let him go through his entire story, not interrupting once, before sharing her mind.

“Youngjae…” she started, but stopped immediately which only made the boy’s worry grow even more.

Whatever she would say, he could tell he wasn’t going to like it.

“When we told you about this bond thing, years ago…” she started but trailed off again for a few seconds. “Your father and I had something else in mind. There’s no such bond, Youngjae, not in the way that you think at least. It was just a way to explain to a ten-year-old child what intimacy was and why it was a dangerous act if done thoughtlessly. We wanted you to understand that it put the human in a very vulnerable state, where they could easily be killed off, hence the fact that it was important that you were close to them first and that they clearly knew what they were getting into.”

She sighed heavily.

“But there’s no magical bond that ties you to the human afterwards,” she continued. “Vampires are hunters, we’re meant to regard humans as food. But we don’t, not in the society we live in now, and it’s the social bonds that we create and the actions we do within these relationships that tie us together.”

Youngjae was speechless, his mind unable to come up with coherent words to reply. Fortunately, he did not have to as his mother had more to tell him.

“Now I would ask you if you believe you were close enough with that human you fed from,” she continued. “But the fact that you’re still thinking about them now is enough of an answer. Because whatever feelings you have towards them, they were already there, what you did yesterday just made them… evident. Like I told you, drinking blood off a human is something very intimate for us, and it was the fact that you not only did it for the first time but also cannot consider doing it with anyone else that made you realize that you cared about this human more than you believed. And that I can’t help you with, baby, I’m afraid.”

Youngjae wasn’t entirely sure he preferred this explanation over the bond speech his parents had given to him as a child.

 

Youngjae’s solution was of course the one he would always choose to deal with his problems: to run away from them. He actively avoided Daehyun, only contacting the other boy through texts to politely decline any offer to go out together.

Youngjae had dated around in high school – all vampires – and one thing he knew for sure was that crushes went away, if only you tried not to indulge in them. It was only a matter of time. At first, it was easy to avoid Daehyun. They were both busy studying for exams and he could use the same excuse over and over without it sounding fake. He knew Himchan had noticed something was off, but his friend could tell when not to discuss a subject and would just frequently remind him that he was here to talk if he ever needed to.

And it was all going well, the vampire successfully managing to not bump into the boy once in an entire week. It was going too well, in fact. Which was why he wasn’t too surprised when he received a text from Himchan one evening as he was coming home late from the library, that clearly ordered him not to walk into the room if he didn’t want to be mentally scarred.

Youngjae quickly weighed all his options, knowing well that he only had one. There was only one person he knew who had an empty bed in their dorm. Reluctantly, he scrolled through his contact list and rung the number, preparing himself to hear the familiar voice for the first time in a week.

“Hey Youngjae,” Daehyun picked up with the same cheerfulness as usual. “Is everything alright? It’s been a while.”

“I’ve been sexiled,” Youngjae whined, trying to ignore the warmth growing in his stomach as Daehyun laughed loudly on the other end of the phone.

 

Spending the night at Daehyun’s was not so much different now than before. They would talk, eat pizza and sometimes play video games – although Daehyun sucked so it took all the fun out of winning. The mark he’d left on the boy’s neck had mostly faded. It looked like an old bruise that had lingered for days, or, from a distance, a hickey. Youngjae tried to ignore it, but his eyes kept glancing over the human’s neck, sending him flashbacks of the moment his lips had touched the other’s smooth tan skin that he’d rather forget.

Daehyun was busy cleaning the dishes when he caught Youngjae’s gaze on his neck and smiled softly, his hand mechanically grazing over the fading mark.

“Don’t worry about it,” he told the vampire. “It stopped hurting after a day. You said you were about to hurt me, but you wildly overestimated yourself, it wasn’t much honestly.”

Seeing his attempt at humor fall flat, Daehyun tried a more serious approach.

“Honestly, Youngjae, it’s nothing,” he added. “It won’t happen again anyway. Don’t sweat over it.”

Youngjae nodded, but he hated that a small, twisted part of him wished it would happen again. And this time, he wasn’t even hungry.

 

Contrarily to what he believed, crushes did not just go away. Not when the universe seemed to work actively against it, at least. The worst part of it all was that the more Youngjae tried to ignore his feelings, the more he noticed little things about Daehyun that made his heart jump. Like how adorable the boy looked when he’d just woken up. He’d seen him like this a hundred times, with sleepy eyes and messy hair, but never before then had it made him feel this way.

He noticed too how touchy-feely Daehyun was. All his friends were, but he noticed for the first time just how often the boy would initiate contact, often briefly and in the midst of doing something else – laughing, usually, since Daehyun never stopped laughing. These small touches were nothing more than what close friends did, but they never failed to make the vampire’s heart pound, still not expecting them as if he hadn’t known Daehyun for over a year already.

And then there was the flirting. He couldn’t remember if Daehyun had always acted this way towards him or if this was new, but God would the boy never stop sending him flirty remarks. He knew they embarrassed Youngjae, the latter noticing the other boy’s small smiles when he’d successfully rendered the vampire speechless, but he would not stop. It was either pointed remarks at the now faded mark on his neck, or ambiguous sentences that Youngjae did not know how to interpret. It was always subtle enough that it would only make the conversation awkward for the vampire while the human easily bounced back on another topic, pretending this was nothing but a joke between them.

But Youngjae had had enough of being played around with.

It was another evening spent at Daehyun’s dorm, after receiving yet another lovely warning text from Himchan a few hours before, when he put his plan to work. He’d already spent the evening building up to it, pretending he was feeling a bit tired and dizzy.

Daehyun was busy cleaning the dishes again when he decided it was time to fake a stomachache. It didn’t take long for the other boy to notice.

“Youngjae?” Daehyun said as he saw his friend holding his belly while scrunching his face. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better,” he said in a deliberately measured tone. “I forgot to eat again. I mean, drink blood. I should’ve taken a bottle with me this morning, but I forgot.”

“Will you be fine? Do you need me to run over to your room to grab you one?” Daehyun asked, clearly buying into it.

“No, I don’t want to bother Himchan,” Youngjae replied, making his voice sound even more miserable. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

Daehyun sat on the bed next to Youngjae, leaving the dishes for later.

“Youngjae, if you need to drink from me again, it’s perfectly fine,” he said, his voice very serious.

“You really don’t mind?” Youngjae asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes. I trust you.”

And so Youngjae seized the human’s jaw just like the last time, firmly but still careful not to hurt him, and he angled his own head so his mouth would have an easy access to the boy’s neck. Except this time, as he got closer to the human’s smooth skin, his fangs stayed perfectly hidden within his mouth. Only his lips touched the boy’s skin, softly sucking on it for a second. It was enough to get the reaction he wanted.

“What…I…” Daehyun stuttered, at a loss for words for the first time. “A-Are you giving me a hickey?”

“Well, you hinted at it so many times, I thought it was clear that was what you wanted,” Youngjae said, amused at the blush that spread over the other boy’s cheeks.

Daehyun was speechless for a few more seconds, before laughing that same loud, open-mouthed laugh Youngjae loved so much.

“And all this time I thought you were too oblivious to take a hint!” the boy exclaimed.

Before Youngjae could come up with a witty reply, Daehyun closed the gap between their lips, his two hands reaching up to Youngjae’s jaw. It was a messy kiss, but then Youngjae hadn’t kissed anyone since high school so he barely remembered what it felt like. He just knew he’d never felt like that, out of control, passionate but so warm he didn’t want it to stop. And so he kissed him back, making it last a few minutes longer before they were both out of breath.

 

It wasn’t always fun being the vampire friend, but Youngjae had to admit he had struck lucky. He had four awesome friends who had easily accommodated to his inhumanness and now a human boyfriend. Youngjae had always believed he would only date vampires, as his parents had, because it was simply easier to live with people who functioned just like him. But everything was easy with Daehyun. He didn’t know if it was because they’d been friends for over a year before they’d started dating, but Youngjae’s creatureliness was nothing but a detail between them. In fact, it had just become part of their relationship.

From time to time, Youngjae would drink off Daehyun’s neck. They wouldn’t do it too often though, and it always came off Daehyun’s request. The vampire was hesitant at the beginning, not sure if it was fair that he only got something out of it, but his boyfriend insisted so much he always obliged. After a few times, when he was reassured that it had no negative effect on Daehyun, he would more willingly feed off his boyfriend, although he was never the one to ask for it. Even months into their relationship, Youngjae could not understand why Daehyun was so eager to have the vampire take his blood.

“Because you either cook for me or take me to a restaurant afterwards,” Daehyun had replied with a blinding smile when he’d finally asked. “It’s a win-win situation.”

Right. Youngjae believed that it was only fair that he fed his boyfriend after feeding off him. Besides, he had some issues with Daehyun’s cooking.

“You just put too much garlic,” he’d complained one evening. “You know it puts me off.”

“If someone had told me vampires could be so whiny,” Daehyun replied.

The human laughed as a pillow flew on his face from Youngjae’s side of their newly shared dorm.  

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoyed this ♥  
> please don't forget to leave kudos and comments ♥  
> if you're a fan of supernatural daejae stories just like me, feel free to check out my other one shots!!
> 
> come over [here](https://twitter.com/anendlessfire) to shout at me on twitter


End file.
